Moving money overseas

What do I need to declare

If you’re moving money into or out of Australia, you need to declare if it’s $10,000 or more in cash or non-cash forms of money (money). This includes Australian and foreign currency if the combined value is $10,000 or more. These are known as monetary instruments, and include:

• cash
• bearer negotiable instruments (BNIs).

BNIs include:

• traveller’s cheques
• cheques
• promissory note
• bearer bond
• money order, postal order or similar order
• bill of exchange
• other negotiable instrument not covered above.

You only need to report BNIs that are payable to any person. On a cheque this is often shown with the instruction to 'pay to the bearer'. You don’t need to report a BNI that includes the instruction to pay a specific person who is named on the BNI.

You don’t need to declare bullion or other precious metals to us. To learn more about travelling with bullion, go to the Australian Border Force website.

When you need to declare

You need to declare when you:

• travel into or out of Australia with money
• send or receive the money overseas (for example, by mail, courier, air or sea freight).

You don’t need to declare money if you transfer it through a bank or money transfer business.

How to declare 

There are 2 ways to declare money depending on what you’re doing with the money.

Travelling into or out of Australia

If you’re travelling into or out of Australia with money you need to fill in the online declaration form before you pass through customs. Keep a copy of your receipt, as you may need to show it to an Australian Border Force or police officer.

Online form: Travelling into or out of Australia with money

Sending or receiving money from overseas

If you’re sending money overseas you need to complete the form below before you send it. 

If you’ve received money from overseas you need to complete the form below within 5 business days of receiving it.

Online form: Sending or have received money from overseas.

If you’re a reporting entity, you can submit a cross-border movement report through AUSTRAC Online.

What happens once a form is submitted

The information you provide in the form is stored securely and only accessible to AUSTRAC and some partner agencies, including law enforcement.

Your personal details aren’t provided to private companies. Learn more about our privacy policy.

Rules about carrying and declaring money

Sharing your money with other travellers to avoid having to declare it is called structuring. It’s against the law. 

For example, a family might choose to break up a reportable amount of money among themselves, so that each traveller is carrying less than $10,000. If a young child in the group is carrying $9,950 across the border, it may look like this was structured to avoid having to declare the money.

It's illegal to make multiple trips across the border with an amount of cash less than $10,000 to avoid reporting obligations. It’s also illegal to make someone else do this.

Penalties for structuring include fines and imprisonment.

Children carrying money

There’s no age limit for carrying money. But you can’t use a child to carry money across a border to avoid having to declare $10,000 or more.

Carrying money for someone else

You can carry money for someone else, but you must declare it. On the reporting form you must include your information as well as the information of the person you’re carrying money for or delivering the money to.

Penalties for not declaring

You may face fines or imprisonment for not declaring money of $10,000 or more when you:

• enter or leave Australia
• send or receive money overseas.

Watch the video about your obligations

Watch our video to learn about your obligations to declare cash and non-cash forms of money.